On Fri, 25 Jan 2002 [log in to unmask] wrote:

> The Dutchmen let a point get away as a late Dartmouth goal seals a
> 3-3 tie at Achilles.  Union hosts Vermont Saturday night; the Cats
> were beaten 6-0 at RPI tonight.  Union is 4-5-2 in the ECAC--good
> for a 4-way share of 6th place.

I'll throw in a bit more about this one.  It was not nearly as painful
as you might expect when your team enters the third period with a
one-goal lead and walks away with a tie.  Union played a strong game
and had the chance come away with the win.

Union did not look so great in the first, as Dartmouth built a 2-1
lead.  Union had to be satisfied coming out of that period down just
one.  Union caught a break when Jeff Hutchins was called for "diving"
(is that the right call in college? - I seem to remember
"unsportsmanlike conduct") after which Dartmouth rushed up ice on a
3-on-1.  For some reason, the officials blew the whistle as Dartmouth
was about to gain the zone.  I thought it had to be matching minors or
a penalty on Dartmouth when the whistle blew, but the only call made
was on Hutchins.  The first ended with some pushing and shoving that
led to a Union power play to open the second.  Dartmouth's first goal
came after a shot wide to Brandon Snee's right kicked back in front to
be put past him.  The second came after a failed Union clearing pass,
and was a nice tip-in right in front of Snee.

The second period was one of the fastest back and forth periods in
recent memory.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  Union tied it when
Charles Simard blocked a Dartmouth shot out to center ice, skated out
to pick up the loose puck, carried it in deep, looking for a centering
pass.  It seemed he held on too long but then on what was either a
brilliant play or a centering pass gone bad, he banked it in off of
the goaltender or possibly off a defenseman's skate from behind the
goal line.  Union took the lead on the power play later in the second
when a couple of passes set up Jordan Webb's goal.

Early in the third, the Big Green tied it up on a shot from above the
right faceoff circle that somehow got through Brandon Snee.  It was a
shot he'll almost always stop, but it went in.  From there, it was
more good action, with plenty of good scoring chances, I'd say about
2-to-1 in favor of Union.  Jeff Wilson had two great chances for the
game-winner, both of which went just wide of the net.  Dartmouth's
Darren Gastrock came up big on some other chances.

Union also had the better of the play in the overtime.  There was a
delay of just under 15 minutes with 1:01 left in the overtime when a
Dartmouth player's stick apparently hit a pane of glass in just the
right spot, and it shattered.  After some quick repair work by Dennis
Flavin and his staff, the teams played out a pretty tense final minute
that ended with a good Union shot right at the buzzer.

The night also featured the debut of a new home white jersey for
Union.  It has a Block U on the front, with some black piping.  Pretty
sharp, I think.  There is also a shamrock on the left shoulder with
the initials "JMP", in memory of assistant coach Kevin Patrick's
brother James Patrick, who was lost in the terrorist attack on the
World Trade Center.

All in all, a good night of hockey at Achilles.

--
Jim Teresco - [log in to unmask]
http://www.teresco.org